7 Command Decisions
by Denise Felt
Summary: While Cmdr. Straker is gravely ill, the command team face some tough choices.


7. Command Decisions  
  
(A UFO Story)  
  
written by Denise Felt  
  
copyright 2001  
  
ACT I  
  
"Good evening, Straker. May I come in?"  
  
"Of course, sir." Straker opened the door wider to allow the general to enter. "Would you care for some coffee?"  
  
"Thanks." Henderson sat down on the comfortable couch in Straker's living room and noticed the large vase of daffodils on the coffee table. When Straker returned from the kitchen and handed him a cup, he was looking at the painting over the mantle and asked, "Is that a Monet?"  
  
"Yes. Corey Templeton sold it to me from his private collection several years ago. It's beautiful, isn't it?" The commander sat on one of the chairs near the couch and took a sip of his coffee. "What can I do for you, sir?"  
  
Henderson put down his cup. "I wanted to let you know in person how things stand. Nothing will be formally announced until the end of the month, but I'm retiring."  
  
Straker sat forward, placing his cup on the coffee table between the couch and chairs. "I'm sorry to hear that." Actually, he was stunned.  
  
The general said, "The doctors give me a year to live, and that only if I cut way back on my workload." His gaze was ironic. "You know how impossible that would be. So, my wife and I are going to spend however long we have together back in the States. All our children are there, and we haven't seen our grandkids in ages."  
  
"I hadn't realized that the news was that bad, sir. You seemed to get through the heart attack in fairly good health."  
  
Henderson nodded. "There was more damage than was apparent at first." He shrugged. "Time catches up with all of us sooner or later. At least I've had some warning. It'll be good to be with the family these next several months. It's been a long time since we were able to visit for more than a day or two."  
  
Straker said, "I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time with them, sir. But you'll be sorely missed here."  
  
"That's kind of you to say so, but you're probably the only one who will say it. Or mean it." The general shook his head. "Do you remember back when we first started getting everything together? We made a good team, you know. Those were the days, huh?"  
  
Straker gave a slight smile. "You were the first CO I'd ever had that was willing to put everything on the line for a worthy goal. You inspired me, sir."  
  
Henderson grunted. "Still, if I remember correctly, you didn't want this job when it was offered to you."  
  
"Not because I wasn't willing to work. I was newly married. My obligations had shifted somewhat."  
  
The general said sadly, "I was always sorry that things didn't work out for you there, Straker. You've had a hard time of it over the years. Don't think I haven't noticed. But I'll say this for you, you never complained. No matter how hard it got." He gave a cackle of laughter. "And I made it pretty hard for you at times, didn't I?"  
  
Straker smiled and spread his hands. "You kept me on my toes. I wouldn't have had it any other way."  
  
"Well, you're generous," Henderson replied. "But the truth of it is that I was afraid that I favored you too much. I think I was harder on you simply because I didn't want the council to know how much you meant to me. I've always thought of you as a son, Straker. My own son was never interested in the military, and you were the first officer I'd ever worked with that had some of my drive for the task ahead of us. You've done an incredible job, you know. No one could have done better."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
"That business with the underwater city," the general continued with a sigh, "could have ended a lot differently than it did. The council is well aware of who we have to thank for coming out of that with a whole skin. And the aliens looking for their survey team, as well. You're the best kind of soldier, Straker. A born diplomat. I'm damn proud of the way you handled that situation. I know quite well I'd have done things differently. And I'd have been wrong."  
  
He gave Straker a level look from under his bushy brows. "I said all that because it's the truth and needed to be said. But I've had a lot of time to think lately. And you've been on my mind." He pulled a folded magazine out of his jacket and tapped it against his palm. "My wife loves to read the tabloids. While I was recuperating after heart surgery, I read some of her back issues out of sheer boredom." His gaze turned ironic. "I learned more about the lives of actors and actresses than I ever wanted to know. How do you work with those people?"  
  
"They're just like everyone else, sir," the commander answered, "only more so."  
  
Henderson chuckled. "That I'll believe." He flipped open the magazine he held and gazed at the  
  
page for a minute. "I found this last week." He handed the magazine to Straker.  
  
The page it was opened to was full of photo highlights of the movie premiere for Sand In Your Eye. There were the usual shots of Straker and Deirdre as the leads and some of assorted cast members, but Straker was certain that none of those had attracted the general's attention. No, it was a small shot halfway down the page. It was a full length photo of Deirdre Snow wearing a typical low-cut gown and smirking into the camera. But behind her, couples were dancing. And one of those couples was Straker and Sheila Conover. His heart contracted when he saw how happy they had looked, and how unaware of the rest of the world they'd been. He turned his gaze to the general, unable to think of anything to say.  
  
Henderson was somber. "Is that Col. Austin?"  
  
Straker sat back, dropping the magazine onto the coffee table. "Yes."  
  
"You want to explain why security knows nothing about her being alive?"  
  
The commander rubbed a hand over his face. "She has amnesia, General. It was considered too dangerous for her or for SHADO to bring her back and try to reinstate her."  
  
Henderson frowned. "Then what were you doing with her?"  
  
"Dancing, sir," Straker said quietly. "Just dancing." He handed back the magazine.  
  
The general folded it and put it back inside his jacket. "I won't ask what your relationship with her was like before she was captured. It's none of my business, after all, and I remember well enough just what your situation was." He heaved a sigh. "But it's obvious from that photo how you both feel now. I don't think I've ever seen you look like that, not in all the years I've known you." He looked sad. "Security would have a field day if they saw that picture, you know."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What are your plans?"  
  
Straker looked at him in surprise. He had expected intimidation tactics. "What do you mean?"  
  
"You realize that there's only one way you'll be able to be with her as things stand, don't you? You'll have to retire."  
  
Straker swallowed. "I've considered it."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"I'm working on it. I can't leave things as they are now, sir. There are just too many changes that have to go into effect before I can hand things over to anyone else." Straker ran a hand through his hair. "I'm looking at sometime in the next two years, but a lot will depend on how well things go."  
  
Henderson leaned forward. "Listen, Straker. You've given enough of your life to SHADO. No one's given more. My advice to you is to get out now. Who knows where either of you will be in two years?"  
  
The commander closed his eyes for a moment. "Don't you think I've wanted to? Just to go off with her to some island somewhere and raise a beachful of wild children? To fill our days with laughter and our nights with love? God! I want it so much I can taste it!"  
  
He lifted tortured eyes to the general. "But how could I ever face my children if I didn't first make sure they'd have a world that was safe to grow up in? I have to know that SHADO will continue once I'm gone. As you say, I've paid a high price to keep SHADO going over the years. It will all have been in vain if I don't see it through now."  
  
Henderson gave a heavy sigh and got to his feet. "You do whatever you feel you have to, Straker. I won't interfere. But don't wait too long to begin living. Look at me. I got lucky. There's still time for me to enjoy my family for a little while before I go. If you wait too long, you won't have a family to fall back on when it's your time."  
  
The commander shook his head with a slight smile. "I won't wait too long, sir. I promise you. I'm not even sure I'll make it the next two years without her."  
  
"Who do you have in mind to replace you? Not Foster?"  
  
"No. Paul's not ready. It will be some time before he could handle HQ on a daily basis. Frankly, I don't want to wait that long. And Alec's out of the question. Not only is he beyond the age to be considered, but he's far too easy-going. I've been keeping an eye on Peter Carlin. He's got the right temperament for the position, and he's gained the respect of everyone who's worked under his command on Skydiver. I've recalled him to HQ now that Skydiver 1 is being refitted. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm not planning on sending him back once the sub is back in commission."  
  
"Hmmm," the general said as Straker opened the door for him, "that just may work. He's been your protege from the beginning, hasn't he? Well, I can see that you didn't need my advice after all. You already had things figured out for yourself."  
  
Straker laid a hand on his arm. "I appreciate your advice very much, sir. I've always counted on you to keep me in line. It won't be the same answering to someone else."  
  
Henderson smiled slyly. "Well, they're letting me assist in choosing my successor. I'll be sure to tell whoever it is to make you work extra hard for your allocations."  
  
Straker's answering smile was rueful. "Thanks."  
  
* * *  
  
"What is it, Mark?" Nina Barry asked the man silhouetted against the window. She'd awakened to find him gone from the bed, but he hadn't gone far. Just to the bedroom window. But he seemed much farther away than that to her.  
  
Rogers turned at the sound of her voice. "Did I wake you, Babe? I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep."  
  
Nina shook her head. "You didn't wake me. What's bothering you? Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
He came to the bed and sat heavily on the edge. His face was troubled. "I feel like I'm losing you, Nina. No, that's not right." He ran a distracted hand through his short hair. "I feel as though I never had a hold on you at all. Like I'm fighting a losing battle here."  
  
She looked at him for a long moment. "Mark, I love you. Surely you know that by now?" She laid a delicate hand on his massive arm.  
  
Rogers nodded sadly. "Yes, I do know it. But where are we going, Nina? What plans have we made? Will we even have a future together?" He spread his hands despairingly. "I'm too old-fashioned, I guess. I want--- no! I need--- ties to you that are more than just sex. I want to marry you. I want us to start a family. I want to live the rest of my life with you." He sighed. "I realize that you don't want to hear it. But I don't know how much longer I can go on just being a lover. It's not enough!"  
  
Nina leaned forward to put her arms around him. "Mark, it's not that I don't want to hear about marriage. I'm thrilled by the idea. I can't tell you how much it means to me that you want to spend forever with me." She ran a hand over his closely cropped hair, wanting to cry all of a sudden. "It's just that I thought you were happy with the way things are. Your life is so busy, and so is mine. It always seemed easier to make time for each other whenever we were free. I guess I didn't realize how much it was bothering you."  
  
He turned to embrace her, holding her close. "No, honey. It's not your fault. I know how you feel about your job. Mine means a lot to me too. I wish they didn't take us in opposite directions so much, but I'm willing to work around that. I told you that in the beginning, and I haven't changed my mind. But I know that if you married me, you'd eventually have to quit your job. Babies have a way of demanding a lot of time. To you, this--- what we have now--- has been the ideal situation. And I've tried to accept it. Really, I have. Because I don't want to pressure you into doing something you're not ready for. It's just that it's hard sometimes to feel as though I have any permanent place in your life. It's my problem, Babe. I'll deal with it. Honest, I will."  
  
Nina hugged him tightly, full of love for him and wishing that life didn't require so many hard choices. How could she explain to him why her job meant so much? How could she tell him the need she had to make a difference in the world when he thought she was just a studio employee? "I do want to marry you, Mark," she said. "I just wish I didn't have to give up so much to do so. And I want our children. Of course, I do. But I could never be a stay-at-home mom. My work has been my life. It's not so easy to walk away from it all. Even for the honor of changing diapers."  
  
He chuckled. "I won't speak of it again, Babe. I promise." He kissed her and ran a hand up and down her soft arm. "I'll get over it. It's enough to know that you're here when I get back from a trip, and that I'll see you after one of your trips. I won't ask for more until you're ready. Okay?"  
  
Nina nodded and drew him down onto the bed with her. But her heart hurt inside her, and she wondered how long they could go on like this.  
  
* * *  
  
Straker walked onto Lot 7 wishing his head would just fall off. Maybe then it wouldn't give him so much pain. He knew he should talk to Dr. Jackson about the headaches, especially since they'd worsened in the past few weeks. But he had the sinking feeling that it was more than the flu, and he really didn't want to face any serious health problem right now. Especially now. SHADO was going to be experiencing enough upheaval in the next few weeks with the general retiring. The last thing any of them needed was to have their commander out of commission.  
  
He was listening to the director suggest a good angle for the upcoming scene when he felt eyes on him. He let his gaze travel casually over the set and met the eyes of a young woman wearing a Marvin the Martian t-shirt. She was standing next to the table where the writing team was hotly debating last minute line changes. His eyes widened slightly. She was staring at him in complete shock, and he lifted an inquiring brow. She closed her mouth with a snap and returned her attention to the discussion of the script.  
  
"Hey, Mr. Straker!" Max Fenig called as he walked by with some papers.  
  
"Max!" Straker turned back to the director, saying, "Why don't you go ahead with a long shot from the extreme right? Let's see how that works." He walked over to the young man. "How are you today, Max?"  
  
"Hey, just great, Mr. Straker," he said, shaking hands. "The team can't seem to agree on the word changes, though. I'm staying out of it."  
  
"You're a wise man," Straker assured him, watching the argument escalate at the table. "Max, who's the new girl?"  
  
"You mean Em?"  
  
"M?"  
  
"Yeah. Emily. She's from the States, on a fellowship here working on her doctorate. In British military history, no less."  
  
"Impressive," Straker said.  
  
"Hell, she knows everything! She's a non-con, but we let her join the writing team anyway, just because she's a walking encyclopedia."  
  
Straker raised an ironic brow. "She's a non-con, is she?" He knew the designation the C.A.A.R. members used for those who had not had contact with the aliens, but who had joined the group merely out of curiosity in the subject. He gave Max a man-to-man look. "She's very pretty."  
  
Max nodded. "Yeah, but she's not my type. You know, I saw Sand In Your Eye last week. Excellent movie."  
  
Straker smiled. "Thanks, Max."  
  
"Say, I've been meaning to ask you. What's it like kissing Deirdre Snow?"  
  
Boring. "Now, Max," Straker told him, "that's classified information. You know I can't tell you that."  
  
Max gave a huge sigh. "Boy, wouldn't I like to find out for myself! That face! That hair!"  
  
"Hmmm. All those assets," Straker agreed dryly. "Were you planning to go with the team on location next month?"  
  
The young man shrugged. "I guess so. Why?"  
  
"You may not want to be away from the studio for the next several weeks," Straker said meaningfully.  
  
Max's eyes got even larger than normal behind his glasses. "You mean...? Wow! She'll be here? I know. She's going to star in that new sci-fi picture that Mason's doing, isn't she?"  
  
Straker laid a finger to his lips. "Classified, Max. Classified."  
  
"You got it," Max said with a grin. "Mum's the word."  
  
"Whatever he tells you is sure to be a lie, Max," Mark Rogers said jovially as he joined the conversation.  
  
"Now, Mark," Straker replied. "You'll give him the wrong idea."  
  
The two men shook hands. Rogers winked broadly at Max. "That's just it, Ed. Someone's got to warn him what a slippery fellow you are."  
  
Max laughed. "Don't worry, Mr. Straker. I know better. I guess I'd better see if I can't help settle things with the team. I'll catch you later." He started to walk away, then turned back and added, "And thanks for the tip."  
  
Straker winked conspiratorially.  
  
Buck's brows raised. "What are you telling the kid now, Ed? You know, you shouldn't encourage him so much. He already thinks you're God."  
  
His old friend shook his head. "Max is a brilliant young man, Buck. He reminds me of my brother when he was younger. Although Chris was never starstruck."  
  
Rogers rolled his eyes. "Man, does he have it bad! It's all your fault, Iceman. You had to go and give him an autograph. Then he found out that you never give out autographs, and that was it! He was off and running. He's got quite a collection now."  
  
Straker pinched the bridge of his nose. The sunlight was so bright it was almost dizzying. "Well, I could hardly tell him no. He had such an original approach."  
  
"What'd he say?"  
  
His friend smiled enigmatically and changed the subject. "Buck, what do you think of the new girl?"  
  
Rogers looked over at the writers' table, where Max had indeed managed to calm the rest of the team down. "Emily? She's sharp as a tack. We got lucky getting her onto the team."  
  
"I think you should arrange a screen test for her," Straker said.  
  
Rogers was surprised. "Really? Any part in particular?"  
  
"No. But set something up with Blakeley if she's interested. I'd like to see how she looks on camera."  
  
"Sure," Buck replied. "She is a pretty thing, isn't she?"  
  
Straker's smile was slightly wistful. "She reminds me of someone."  
  
* * *  
  
"Are you alright?" Nina asked as she entered Straker's HQ office.  
  
The commander sat back casually in his chair, as though he hadn't just been rubbing his forehead in pain. "I'm fine, Nina. Have a seat."  
  
She sat, but continued to eye him in concern. "You don't look fine," she said bluntly.  
  
His lips thinned a bit. "Well, I'll be fine. Trust me."  
  
She'd heard those words before. "By sheer willpower?"  
  
His soft smile broke through. "If need be." He sat forward. "I need you to cut your leave short, Nina."  
  
She looked dismayed. "I've only been back a few days."  
  
"I know. But the upgraded computer equipment for Moonbase is ready ahead of schedule. Gay is going to need all the help she can get to run them through their paces. We need you there."  
  
She nodded, biting back a sigh. "Of course." She got up and paced. "I can be ready as soon as you need me to."  
  
"Good," Straker said, watching her closely. "Your flight will leave tomorrow afternoon."  
  
"Okay." She headed for the door, but his next words stopped her.  
  
"What's wrong, Nina? Is it Buck?"  
  
She turned anguished eyes to him. "I don't know what to do," she said in quiet desperation.  
  
Straker motioned her back to her seat.  
  
She slowly sat back down. "He wants more than just for us to be together."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but he's right. I thought it would be enough for us just to see each other when we could. But something's missing. I can accept things that way. I can even tell myself that it's what I want. But no, it's not enough."  
  
He nodded. He felt the same way about Sheila. It was precisely why he wouldn't have an affair with her. It could never be enough.  
  
"He wants to marry me."  
  
Straker frowned. "Security won't like that. He is considered a fringe element, you know."  
  
"That's the least of my worries," she answered wryly. "Did I ever thank you for getting them off my back over Mark and I seeing each other?"  
  
"Several times. What's troubling you, Nina? Don't you want to marry him?"  
  
"Oh, yes. Of course I do. It's just that I'll be forced to resign from SHADO. I can't be going off to Moonbase and leaving my children behind."  
  
Commander Straker said, "Are you pregnant now?" At her headshake, he continued, "Then you've got some time before you have to consider resigning. Besides, there's no reason we couldn't station you at HQ. There's plenty of work for you to do here, you know."  
  
She gave him a wan smile. "I know. And I appreciate that you'd do that. But the work I'm doing now means everything to me. I don't want to give up Moonbase. I want to find some way to have it all."  
  
He grinned. "Doesn't everybody?"  
  
She grinned back at him. "God, listen to me! I'm whining because a wonderful man wants to make me a wife and mother." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ed. I'll adjust. It just takes some getting used to."  
  
He gave her a serious look. "I've always thought it unfair that a woman is forced to have either a home or a career, but rarely both. But I've come to realize that it's not exclusive to females. All of us have to make tough decisions in life. Sometimes those choices are very difficult to make. But I can assure you that when you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, you won't have any regrets about all that you had to give up. You won't have any regrets at all."  
  
She smiled, realizing that he was speaking from experience. "I know." She got up and walked to the door of the office. But before she left, she turned to him with a twinkle in her eyes. "What are you going to tell security?"  
  
  
  
ACT II  
  
"What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"  
  
Nina looked over her shoulder to find Peter Carlin standing behind her grinning. She lifted a brow. "What are you doing here?"  
  
His grin widened. "I'm undercover. How about you?"  
  
"Undercover? You mean, he sent you here?"  
  
Peter nodded. "I'm here every month. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't miss these meetings." He looked around fondly at the people milling about the room. "These guys are great."  
  
Nina frowned. "Dee's on staff. Why would he need you here?"  
  
"I was sent here before we got Delores."  
  
She realized suddenly that he was uniquely qualified to be a member of this fringe group. "You told them your story?"  
  
He grinned at her. "Oh, yeah."  
  
She shook her head in amazement. "What did security have to say about that?"  
  
Peter shrugged. "You know the boss. He just told them I was infiltrating, and they shut up. Nothing makes them happier than a little skullduggery."  
  
Nina laughed. "You know, I never thought of it before, but he's quite the nonconformist, isn't he?"  
  
"Definitely."  
  
"But he's such a great leader. That doesn't make sense."  
  
Capt. Carlin replied, "Of course it does. All great leaders are nonconformists. It just stands to reason. You can't make a difference if you only uphold the status quo. It's bucking the system that gets us ahead of the game."  
  
She stared at him. "You sound just like him."  
  
Peter laughed in surprise. "Thanks."  
  
Max walked by and said, "Hi, Nina!"  
  
"Hi, Max," she answered.  
  
Peter waited until he was out of earshot before asking, "You know these guys?"  
  
"Yes. I've talked to them on the set a few times."  
  
"The set?" He looked at her. "You mean Encounters? You've been on the set?"  
  
She gave him a smile. He sounded so excited. "Several times."  
  
"I'm looking forward to being a part of it over the next few months," he explained.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I get to learn some of the ropes while I'm here," he said. "He's going to teach me a few things about running a studio."  
  
"What for?" she asked with a small frown.  
  
Peter shrugged. "To keep me from being bored, I suppose. It'll be a while before I get my ship back."  
  
She smiled. Skydiver 1 was the first of the subs to get refitted with the new upgrades. "I'll bet you can't wait to try out the new equipment."  
  
Unexpectedly, he shook his head. "Actually, I'm not sure I want to go back. I'm going to ask him if I can work at the studio from now on." At her shocked look, he continued. "We're expecting."  
  
Nina was bewildered at first. "Expecting?" Her eyes widened. "You mean, a baby?"  
  
Peter's grin nearly split his face in two. "Yeah. In five months."  
  
"Does he know?"  
  
"Oh, yeah." He shook his head ruefully. "Actually, he knew before I did. He was giving Callista a tour of the set of that movie he's doing, and she fainted."  
  
Nina choked on a laugh. "That must have been exciting."  
  
"Well, you know how he is," he replied. "Hardly anyone was even aware that anything unusual had even happened. He treated the whole thing as if women were always fainting at his feet."  
  
She knew a few who would like to, but didn't say so. "Well, congratulations. But that doesn't mean you have to give up your work, you know."  
  
"Sure it does," he answered. "I don't want my child growing up with a sometime dad. My father was there every night while we were growing up. It meant a lot to us. I want that for my kids too."  
  
She swallowed. "It doesn't bother you to just give it up?"  
  
Peter shrugged. "It'll be an adjustment. But the rewards are worth any sacrifice. Family comes first."  
  
Nina sighed. "I wasn't brought up like you were. I was an Air Force brat. My father's work took us all over the world. I remember my mother would just get us settled into a place, and we'd be moving again. Family didn't come first in our house. The military did."  
  
"It made it hard for you, didn't it?" he asked quietly.  
  
She gave a small shrug. "I don't know. I thought it was normal. I know I was rather upset when Dad died, because Mom seemed to take it so well. She bought a little place and started fixing it up. It seemed as though she was glad to be without Dad around."  
  
"She was probably just glad to be able to stay in one place for a while. Did she complain much about all the moves?"  
  
"Never. At least," she qualified, "not that any of us knew." She sighed. "It was years before I realized that it wasn't Dad's death she was so pleased about. It was the chance to finally put down some roots."  
  
"She sounds like a remarkable woman," Peter said.  
  
"Yes. Remarkable," Nina agreed warmly, but her eyes were on Mark across the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Straker sat patiently while the make-up woman streaked more grey into his hair. His headache had subsided somewhat, and he was concentrating on getting into the mood for the next scene. The Needs of the Many had an intriguing storyline, and this scene was crucial for maintaining the impact of the film. They were scheduled to wrap up shooting this week, which was good, because Mason's new picture went into production in just two weeks. Not a lot of time between movies to get away from the studio for a while. But he'd manage something. He couldn't wait another month or so before seeing Sheila again.  
  
This scene was near the end of the movie. He was supposed to be older in this shot. A retired hero who'd given up everything for the cause. Not a lot of acting called for there, he thought. The woman sprayed his hair to set it and pronounced him ready. He thanked her and walked onto the set. The director showed him where he'd be walking along the street and where he'd stop at the mouth of the alley. He nodded that he understood.  
  
When Howard said, "Action!" he began his walk down the foggy street. As he drew up next to the alley, he glanced down it and saw little Geoffrey Tate, the six year old actor who was playing the street urchin. His boyish face and ragged clothes were appropriately dirty, and his dark hair was mussed. He was rifling through a woman's purse, obviously stolen, and Straker was supposed to be reminded by him of his early life on the streets and how far he'd come since then.  
  
But the boy looked up at him with those soulful dark eyes and cocked his head in a considering way, as if wondering what this posh fellow would do on finding him here with a pilfered purse. And Straker froze. This was how Eddie might have looked, he thought suddenly. A child who life had made too old for his years, who would never get the chance to taste an ice cream cone or go to the movie theatre. Who had only had the dream of doing those things. Who had denied any claims to his rightful heritage in order to fight on the side of his mother and the father he had chosen. A man he had never seen and never would live to see. A man who would have given anything to be called his father.  
  
"Cut!" The director approached Straker with a frown. He was concerned. Straker never blew a scene. The young Tate boy was looking confused. Howard laid a hand on Straker's shoulder. "Straker?" The face that turned toward him was tormented. The director gasped. "What is it?"  
  
Dimly Straker realized as he stared at the director that he'd blown the scene, but somehow it didn't matter. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't. He tried to apologize to him, but wasn't able to form the words.  
  
He walked off the set.  
  
As he left the building, he kept blinking, because his vision was so blurred. He really needed to talk to Jackson, he thought. He couldn't have his eyesight being affected by these headaches. It wasn't until he was halfway to his car that he realized that he was crying.  
  
* * *  
  
"Is he busy?"  
  
Miss Eeland looked up at the sound of that voice. "Col. Lake!" she said feelingly. Then she seemed to recollect herself. "I mean, Col. Straker."  
  
Virginia frowned. "It's okay, Miss Eeland. We can't have two Strakers around here. You can still call me Lake if you want." She couldn't help but notice the secretary's worry. "What's the problem?"  
  
Miss Eeland sighed with relief. She'd been on the brink of alerting Col. Freeman, but she knew he'd overreact to the situation. Col. Lake had a calm head on her shoulders and could be trusted to handle it in a way that wouldn't anger the commander. "He's not in yet, Colonel."  
  
Virginia's frown deepened, and she double-checked the clock to be sure of the time. "I'm supposed to brief him on the status of the sub upgrades today. Shouldn't he have been here hours ago?"  
  
"Yes," answered his secretary, "and I've had to cancel two meetings this morning already. It's not like him not to call if he's going to be late."  
  
"Has he been doing this often while I was away?"  
  
"No. Commander Straker is always on time and rarely cancels his appointments. He has cancelled things once recently, but he told me about it when he did. He didn't just not show up."  
  
Virginia's frown deepened. "Have you called his house?"  
  
"Yes. First thing. No one answers."  
  
"How long ago?"  
  
Miss Eeland looked at the clock. "The last time was about an hour ago."  
  
"Well, that doesn't make sense. If he'd been on his way in, he'd be here by now. Where's his car?"  
  
Miss Eeland drew a breath. "That's just it. At last check, it was still at his house."  
  
The two women stared at each other in dismay. Virginia started to say something when the door opened. They turned toward it anxiously.  
  
But it was Nina. "Hey," she said as she entered. "Is Commander Straker in yet?"  
  
Miss Eeland said, "No."  
  
Virginia said, "Nina, I didn't think you were still here. Aren't you scheduled to return to Moonbase today?"  
  
"Yes, but I was on the set this morning for a bit. Miss Eeland," she said, turning to the secretary with a frown, "did you hear about the commander walking off the set of his movie last evening?"  
  
Miss Eeland nodded. "Yes, I heard. He didn't say a word to anyone. He just walked off. The director was very worried."  
  
"So am I," Nina replied grimly. "That's not like him at all. You know, he didn't look well when I saw him yesterday. When are you expecting him in? I won't feel right leaving until I know things are okay."  
  
Miss Eeland exchanged glances with Col. Lake. Virginia said, "That's just it. Something's not okay. Straker's not in and hasn't called in. He doesn't answer his phone, and his car is still at the house."  
  
Nina gasped. "Has someone been sent out there?"  
  
"Not yet," the secretary said. "I didn't want to send a team out there only to have it be something trivial. You know how bent out of shape the commander gets when he's fussed over."  
  
Nina grimaced. She did know. She turned to Virginia. "Maybe we should pay him a visit," she said slowly.  
  
Virginia grinned. "Right. A friendly social call." She turned to Miss Eeland. "Have a team standing by, just in case. We're going out there. I'll call as soon as we know something."  
  
The secretary looked relieved. "Good." She glanced up to see Virginia checking that her weapon was loaded.  
  
Nina noticed as well. "My gun's in the car."  
  
"Fine," Col. Lake said calmly. "You're driving. Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
The house looked peaceful as they drove up. Straker's car was in the drive. They checked the perimeter. There was no sign of forced entry; in fact, there was no sign that anyone had been there at all. Except Straker. Virginia's frown deepened. What was going on? "I'll break in through the back," she told Nina. "Here. You take the key and go in the front." She started toward the rear of the house, then turned back to say, "Be careful."  
  
Nina nodded, her heart in her throat as she opened the front door, gun drawn. Please, God, she found herself repeating. But whether she was praying that everything was fine, which would make them look like fools, or that something was wrong, so that they wouldn't, even she didn't know.  
  
She swept the living room carefully, checking behind the furniture. She had heard glass breaking from the back of the house and realized that Virginia was in. She thought idly as she searched that it had been a long time since she'd been in Straker's house. It was saddening to notice that not much had changed. Although the vase on the coffee table was new.  
  
The door to the bedroom was closed, and she hesitated as she approached it. God! Invading the man's bedroom! But what if he was in there, grotesquely murdered? What if ...? She shut down her thoughts as she opened the door. Too many horror flicks, she decided, taking a deep breath. She had to stop watching those late night movies on TV.  
  
She breathed a sigh of relief as she peered inside the room. The bed was empty. Then she frowned. The covers were half off the bed, the pillows all askew. Straker would never leave his bed in that condition. He considered neatness an art. She came around the end of the bed on her way to checking out the bathroom and saw him. She gasped and ran to where he lay on the floor next to the bed, his feet caught in his blankets. "Ginny!" she called loudly. "In here!"  
  
He was unconscious and unresponsive when she spoke to him. She touched him to check for a bruise where he might have hit his head falling out of bed. Her hand jerked back quickly. He was burning up!  
  
Col. Lake came quickly into the room and asked, "Is he okay?"  
  
Nina shook her head. "He's unconscious. And he's got a high fever."  
  
Virginia went pale as she looked at him over the end of the bed. "Did he fall?"  
  
"I think so. But he doesn't have a bruise or anything." Nina tried again to get him to respond. "Ed!" she called, "Ed! Commander Straker! Ed!"  
  
Slowly his eyelids parted.  
  
She nearly cried with relief. "Ed! Are you alright?" she asked anxiously.  
  
He stared at her incomprehensibly, his eyes glazed and unfocused. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.  
  
She glanced at Virginia, who looked as worried as Nina felt.  
  
"I'll call and get the team over here," the colonel said, reaching for Straker's bedside phone.  
  
The commander was mumbling something, and Nina leaned closer, trying to make it out. "Eddie," he said in an agonized whisper. "Eddie."  
  
  
  
  
  
ACT III  
  
"You say he was on the floor by the bed when you found him?" Dr. Jackson asked the two women in the hospital waiting room.  
  
"Yes," Nina replied. "I thought at first that he'd fallen out of bed and hit his head, but I didn't find a bruise."  
  
Jackson said, "No, there's no sign of a bruise. Or any puncture marks to alert us to a drug of some kind. The blood tests are still running, but so far he looks clean."  
  
Virginia asked, "Is it the flu?"  
  
"Doubtful. Commander Straker has never had the flu to my knowledge." The doctor shook his head wearily. "But he is suffering from a high fever that is causing delirium."  
  
Alec came forward. "Then what is it? Could it be an alien probe again?"  
  
"No. It is definitely an illness. He seems to be floating in and out of consciousness, but he does speak once in a while. It's just that the words are disjointed and incoherent."  
  
Nina frowned. "At the house, he said Eddie. Was he speaking about himself?"  
  
Jackson's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, Virginia said, "His family's housekeeper calls him that, probably leftover from childhood."  
  
The doctor lifted a brow. "She calls him Eddie? She must be a brave woman."  
  
Alec chuckled, but soon asked in a serious tone, "How could he get so ill so fast?"  
  
The doctor shook his head. "It must have been coming on for days. Did no one notice anything out of the ordinary?"  
  
Alec shrugged. He'd been preoccupied with wedding plans lately. Ed had seemed fine the last time he'd talked to him.  
  
Col. Lake said, "Nina said he looked bad when she saw him yesterday."  
  
"Yes," Nina replied, "and he walked off the set of a movie last night."  
  
"What?" Alec was shocked.  
  
Jackson looked at Col. Freeman. "Has he ever done something like that before?"  
  
"Never," Alec said fervently. "Ed would never leave during a shoot. Hell, once he didn't even respond to a UFO alert until he'd finished the scene they were filming for The Scarlet Pimpernel."  
  
Jackson frowned. "What were they doing last night?"  
  
Virginia asked in bewilderment, "What do you mean?"  
  
Col. Freeman said, "You mean, what were they filming? I'll find out." He walked over to the phone and dialed the studio.  
  
General Henderson walked into the waiting room. "How is he, Doctor?"  
  
Jackson shook his head. "It's too soon to say."  
  
Henderson said gruffly, "Was it the aliens?"  
  
"Not as far as I can tell," the doctor answered cautiously. "It seems to be an illness of some kind. He may have been coming down with it for days."  
  
"Nonsense!" the general said. "He was fine when I saw him a few nights ago."  
  
Jackson's sharp eyes rested thoughtfully on him. "Where was that, General?" he asked softly.  
  
Henderson stiffened. He knew quite well how much the doctor liked ferreting out information from people, but damned if he'd let him try it on him! "That's hardly important. The point is, he was fine then."  
  
"Perhaps," Jackson said slowly, "but he's clearly unwell now. We need to find out what is causing the fever. That is what is concerning me."  
  
Nina asked quietly, "How high is his fever, Doctor?"  
  
Jackson said, "109. And still climbing. We've packed him in ice to try to keep it from going any higher. I don't know how much it will help."  
  
Virginia gasped. "What about brain damage? Shouldn't we be worried about that?"  
  
The doctor ran a hand over his eyes. "There's no way to be certain. Commander Straker is... unusual. I've asked Capt. Carlin to bring in his wife. She may be able to tell us more."  
  
Henderson frowned. "What would she know?"  
  
Alec returned to the group in time to hear the general's question. He met Virginia's eyes and realized that she wasn't surprised that Jackson was going to consult with Callista Carlin. Of course not, he thought suddenly. She was married to Straker's brother. However, Nina was looking vaguely confused.  
  
Jackson ignored the general's question altogether and asked Alec, "Well?"  
  
"They were filming a street scene. All Ed had to do was walk down a street and look in an alley."  
  
"Was he looking at anything in particular in the alley?" the doctor asked.  
  
Alec frowned. "Well, there was a street kid that he was supposed to be looking at. That couldn't be it. He's worked with the little Tate boy before."  
  
"How old is this boy?"  
  
Freeman said with a shrug, "About six, I think. Why?"  
  
Dr. Jackson asked quietly, "What does he look like?"  
  
"Oh, average, I would say," Alec answered, confused by the continued questions. "Dark hair, dark eyes."  
  
"Ah!" Jackson said, as though everything finally made sense.  
  
* * *  
  
Nina had to rush off to catch her flight to Moonbase, but Virginia stayed at the hospital for the rest of the day. Her only appointment had been with the commander, and it looked as though that was cancelled. It unnerved her to come back only to find everything awry. No one had even asked how her honeymoon had been. But she supposed they'd get around to it. Once they got over the shock of Commander Straker being so ill.  
  
She hadn't gotten over the shock of it herself. She'd called Chris, and he had come to the hospital just as soon as the preliminary paperwork was finished on the office deal. He'd found a nice building complex that would suit for the British branch of AquaTech. Things were looking good for them to be able to stay permanently in England. She was very happy about that. As much as she had enjoyed Boston and his father's company, she was glad to be home again. She hadn't realized how much she had missed it until she'd pulled onto the studio grounds this morning.  
  
She'd gone with her husband to look in on his brother, but she hadn't stayed long. The sight of Straker so pale and feverish had brought back to her the image of how he'd looked this morning when they'd found him. It had taken all she had to keep her hands steady when she'd phoned HQ. Finding him like that in the bedroom had reminded her so much of when her mother died.  
  
All her life, she'd carried the guilt of that day around with her. Her mother had been bedridden for months before she died, and a nurse had been assigned to help each day. But the nurse had to run to the store for an hour and had left six year old Ginny to keep an eye on her mother while she was gone. Virginia hadn't minded at first, but her mother had just been sleeping, and the sun was shining through the window for the first time in weeks. She'd slipped out of the room and out of the house to play in the field out back. And she'd lost track of time.  
  
When her father had come to find her hours later, it was to tell her that her mother had died. He'd assured the distraught child that her presence wouldn't have made any difference. Her mother had died in her sleep. But Ginny had felt responsible. For years she'd been haunted by the thought that because of her, her mother had died alone. And no one should have to die alone.  
  
She was so glad that she'd gone with Nina to his house this morning. As horrible as it was to consider such a possibility, if Straker was to die now, at least he wouldn't be alone. His brother and his friends were nearby.  
  
General Henderson had gone off to HQ several hours ago, which was fine as far as she was concerned. She hadn't wanted him around to irritate her. Let him bother Alec for a while. Actually, the general hadn't looked very healthy, and she wondered how well he had recuperated after his heart attack. He probably shouldn't even be working yet, she thought with a frown. It had only been a month. How long did it take to get back on your feet after one of those?  
  
Later, Paul joined her in the waiting room, having gotten tired of Henderson lording it over HQ and making cutting remarks to the senior staff. "If I hadn't left," he told her with only half a grin, "I'd have hit him."  
  
He asked how the commander was doing, and she told him the blood tests had all come back clean. It was a relief to know that he hadn't been poisoned somehow by the aliens, but she knew that Dr. Jackson would have appreciated some kind of reason for the fever.  
  
After a few minutes, Paul said, "And how is the married woman these days?"  
  
She grinned. "Loving it, thanks."  
  
He shook his head at her. "You know, you guys scare me. First, Peter. Then, you. Now, Alec. Where will it all end?"  
  
"It's all your fault," she told him. "You're the one who started talking about marriage first, you know. You caused the epidemic."  
  
He frowned. "Yeah, I guess I did mention it first, didn't I?"  
  
He sounded sad, and Virginia laid a hand on his arm. "You never said how that turned out, Paul. Did you change your mind about her?"  
  
"No. Oh, no. She's wonderful. I'd still marry her in an instant if she'd have me."  
  
She frowned. "You mean, she broke up with you?"  
  
"Actually," he explained carefully, "she fell in love with someone else."  
  
"I'm so sorry."  
  
He shrugged. "We're still friends. I see her every now and then. You know, I'm sorry you never got the chance to meet her. I think you'd like her."  
  
Virginia eyed him ironically. "I'm not so sure. I've cordially disliked just about every girl you've gone out with, Paul. You have lousy taste."  
  
"Except yourself, of course," he corrected with a grin.  
  
She lifted a brow. "Of course."  
  
Paul shook his head. "You'd like Sheila. I'm sure of it. You wouldn't be able to help it." He sighed and sat quietly for a few minutes. When he looked at her again, he said, "Did you ever meet someone who was so lively, so vivid, that they made you feel more alive just being around them?"  
  
"Yes," she answered readily. "I married him."  
  
"Lucky you."  
  
* * *  
  
"Nina, can you attach that coupler for me?"  
  
Nina crawled out from behind the station in Moonbase's command sphere after a moment, saying, "Got it. Now try turning it on."  
  
Gay looked at her before throwing the switch. The last time they'd tried this, all the circuits had blown. "Here goes!" The equipment did not respond for a long second, then started humming quietly while its small LED display lights winked. The women sighed in unison.  
  
"Why don't you take a break?" Nina told her. "I'll run it through its paces and let you know how it does when you get back."  
  
Gay shook her head. "You've been working at it as long as I have."  
  
Nina's grin was rueful. "I know. I'm hoping I can take a break after you get back."  
  
Gay laughed and suddenly realized how tired she was. They'd been at this all morning. "Okay."  
  
* * *  
  
Alec drove his sleek car down the dark road that evening as if all the demons of hell were after him. He felt as though they were. At a time in his life when everything had finally come together and made sense, when he was getting ready to marry the most wonderful, delightful, and irritating woman he'd ever known, suddenly everything had all fallen apart. His best friend was deathly ill with no remedy in sight, and Henderson was throwing his weight around as if he'd personally been running SHADO for years. It was just too much.  
  
He needed Dee. He was certain he could have dealt with a dozen Hendersons if his fiancé had been there. But she'd gone to Moonbase last week and wasn't expected back until next Wednesday night. So when the general had pettishly ridiculed another of the control room's procedures, he'd lost his temper with the old goat and stormed out of HQ.  
  
He was on his way to the hospital to check in on Ed. Maybe Jackson would have some good news for him. Maybe Straker himself would be awake by now and demand that he return to HQ to keep an eye on Henderson. Alec grinned to himself. He'd gladly take a tongue-lashing from his old friend if it meant that Straker was okay. God, just let him be okay!  
  
* * *  
  
Dr. Jackson walked into the waiting room the next morning to find that Callista Carlin was back from contacting her father in New Malora. Col. Freeman was describing to Foster and Virginia how hard it had been to get Henderson out of Straker's office long enough for her to make the call on the radio link. Carlin had evidently come to the rescue, carting the old tyrant off for a tour of the studio. Peter seemed embarrassed when they all gazed at him with awe and appreciation. He looked up gladly when the doctor came in.  
  
"Doctor, how is he?" Peter asked.  
  
Jackson sighed. "The same. Which I suppose is a good thing. At least, his fever hasn't worsened. The ice packs seem to be helping, although his temperature is still too high." He turned to Carlin's wife. "Mrs. Carlin, was your father able to be of some assistance?"  
  
Callista gave a shy smile. She felt overwhelmed by the presence of all these authority figures in one room. And they were looking to her for answers. It was daunting. "I'm not sure, Doctor. Malorans do not get ill very often. There were a very limited number of things it could be. My father was leery of suggesting anything, since Straker has lived his whole life on the surface, where constant contact with Terrans and their diseases could have corrupted his immune system."  
  
The doctor nodded as though this thought had occurred to him also. "What are the options he gave you, Mrs. Carlin?"  
  
She took a deep breath. "The presence of a high fever confused him somewhat, so he consulted with our doctors."  
  
Alec interrupted. "Is that high a fever dangerous to Malorans?"  
  
"A high fever is dangerous anytime, Alec," she answered seriously. "But my father said that our people can experience an extreme rise in body temperature without permanent injury."  
  
A deep sigh ran around the room.  
  
"At least, for a while," she added.  
  
"How much of a rise?" Jackson asked.  
  
She looked anxiously at him. "A few stepes?"  
  
He closed his eyes for a moment. It was foolish to expect exact degrees from a culture that utilized an entirely different measuring system. He smiled encouragingly at her. "I see."  
  
She relaxed a little. "A high fever with delirium means one thing for a Maloran. It is the entekcheen. But if that is so, it makes no sense. He would have been aware of the symptoms weeks ago."  
  
The room got very quiet. Peter finally said, "Callista, Straker may not have wanted to tell anyone that he wasn't feeling well."  
  
She frowned at him. "My father has never personally encountered a case of this illness. But he checked the records thoroughly. It should have been noticeable to those around Straker that he was not well. He would have experienced migraines, physical aches, and increased irritability, as well as a steady rising of his body temperature."  
  
Alec winced. Ed had obviously had a time of it. But the only thing that might have gotten past that talented actor's skills at concealment would have been the irritability. And how did one explain that an irritable Straker was a common sight around SHADO?  
  
Jackson asked, "How bad can we expect this illness to get, Mrs. Carlin?"  
  
She spread her hands. "High fever and delirium are the final stages, Doctor."  
  
He gave a sigh of relief. "You mean, before it runs its course?"  
  
Callista shook her head sadly. "No, Doctor. Before death."  
  
* * *  
  
"Red alert. This is a red alert." SID's announcement came at the end of a long night shift for Lt. Ford. He couldn't remember when the time had crawled as much as it had in the past three days. If this was the way things were going to be in the future, he didn't know how long they'd last. Straker had always maintained that tension in the workforce meant bad decisions. And bad decisions led to annihilation. He wouldn't have tolerated the kind of bickering that had been going on at HQ since his sudden illness. And by the command staff especially. But the lieutenant could sympathize with them on some of it. General Henderson was a paper pusher. He didn't have the mindset of a combat commander. If he ever had, years as President of IAC had fossilized it. He was no effective replacement for Straker. Even he seemed to be aware of it. But he stubbornly refused to step down and put someone else in temporary command. The only person he seemed to listen to at all was Capt. Carlin, and the Lord only knew why that was.  
  
So, in the lieutenant's expert opinion, the aliens couldn't have picked a worse time to attack. The general had angered every one of the command staff to the point where they'd all gone off to the hospital to check on the commander. Personally, Ford would have liked to have gone with them. Anyplace had to be better than here.  
  
General Henderson came out of Straker's office and approached him at the radar. "What's the situation, Lieutenant?" he `sked gruffly.  
  
Ford told him that Moonbase had launched the interceptors.  
  
"Good." The general listened to the byplay between Moonbase and the interceptors as they headed toward the coordinates.  
  
Suddenly, one of the interceptor pilots said, "Moonbase, this is Interceptor 1. I have visual contact with the UFO. It is much larger than it should be and of a different configuration. Please advise."  
  
Henderson got on the link to Moonbase immediately. "Lieutenant, tell that pilot to fire!"  
  
Gay's face on the monitor looked concerned. "Sir?"  
  
Henderson bristled at the implied question of his authority. "It's a UFO, isn't it? I said, fire!"  
  
"Yes, sir." The lieutenant relayed the message to the pilots in a voice carefully devoid of any emotion. She did not glance up at Nina or Joan to see their reactions. She didn't need to. The stunned silence in the command sphere left no doubt.  
  
  
  
  
  
ACT IV  
  
"Is there any way to halt the illness?" Jackson asked after he recovered his breath. The rest of the room looked as shocked as he was by the news.  
  
Callista said, "Yes, but it would appear that he does not wish it to be halted."  
  
"What do you mean?" Alec asked angrily. "Ed's not suicidal!"  
  
She blinked at the harshness in his voice, but answered readily enough. "Entekcheen is the Maloran word meaning self-denial. Straker brought this illness upon himself."  
  
Virginia said calmly, "Perhaps he wasn't aware that he did. Commander Straker believes very strongly in exercising self-control. What kind of denial caused this illness, Callista?"  
  
She turned to the colonel and said, "The refusal to mate."  
  
"Jesus," said Alec softly. No one else knew what to say.  
  
"If we brought someone to him for the purpose of mating," the doctor asked carefully, "would that stop the illness from progressing?"  
  
Alec started to say something, but bit back his remark without making it. None of the command team seemed to be able to meet each other's eyes.  
  
Callista said, "No. It would need to be his mate. His refusal to have intercourse with her is what has affected his system so adversely. You must bring her to him." At the silence in the room that greeted these words, she frowned. "Do you not know who she is?" She looked at her husband. "Peter, is Straker married?"  
  
"He's divorced," he answered.  
  
"Well, then," she said in relief. "You must bring her here to mate with him. That should reverse the illness."  
  
"No way!" Alec shook his head vigorously at the suggestion. "He'd be better off dead."  
  
Paul replied, "He will die, Alec, if we don't do something! Can we find out where she lives?"  
  
Freeman said, "It wouldn't matter. She wouldn't come. Besides, she's remarried."  
  
Callista gasped. "What? Why would she do such a thing? I do not understand. She is his mate. How could she be with another?"  
  
Peter laid a hand on her arm. "Callista, our culture is somewhat different than yours." He frowned in thought for a moment before saying quietly, "Actually, I don't think that his wife was his mate."  
  
"You're right," Alec said with relief. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. The mere thought of contacting that woman was enough to make him break out in hives.  
  
Callista looked at them. "Then why did he marry her?"  
  
No one answered.  
  
Peter said slowly, "I think I may know who his mate might have been." When everyone turned to look at him, he said, "Laura."  
  
Virginia gasped. "Of course!" Then her face fell, and she put her hand over her eyes. "Oh, God!" she said in anguish.  
  
Alec too seemed to be stunned. "What will we do?" he asked softly.  
  
Only Paul seemed to be undaunted by this news. "Who's Laura?" he asked them.  
  
"Where is the problem?" Callista asked. "All you need do is bring her here to him. If she is his mate, she will take care of the rest."  
  
Col. Foster asked again, "Who's Laura?"  
  
Peter said sadly, "Callista, his mate was Laura Simmons."  
  
"Oh."  
  
* * *  
  
Henderson sat at Straker's desk feeling better than he'd felt in months. It was invigorating to have his hand on the controls again after so long in a supervisory position. And he'd shown those fools that worked for Straker who was in charge. Damned, if he hadn't! Imagine them balking at destroying a UFO! What kind of imbeciles was Straker hiring anyway?  
  
The UFO hadn't been completely destroyed by the interceptors. But it was heavily damaged. Since it was merely drifting in space, he hadn't ordered them to come back and finish the ship off. It was undoubtedly crippled beyond repair as it was. Why waste the ammunition?  
  
The general had called the hospital to check on Straker, but Jackson had said that there was no change. Henderson was worried about him. Maybe the commander had left it too late to start having a life, after all. Maybe he'd never get to go to that beach or raise those wild children. It was a depressing thought.  
  
Lt. Ford entered the office just then to report that the UFO had drifted closer to the moon. It seemed as though it was going to crash onto the surface approximately thirty miles away from Moonbase.  
  
"Good," Henderson replied gruffly. That would take care of that.  
  
Ford hesitated a moment, then said, "It's standard procedure to keep Moonbase on red alert until it does, sir. Just in case any of the debris land close enough to cause damage to the spheres." It wasn't exactly true. Putting Moonbase on red alert wasn't standard procedure; at least, not in the books, it wasn't. But Lt. Ford knew that it was what Straker would have done. The commander was a cautious man and liked to have all his bases covered. He held his breath, hoping that the general wouldn't call him on it.  
  
But Henderson only said, "Of course, Lieutenant. Go ahead."  
  
Ford breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, sir." He left the office to relay the order, and the general returned to his musings. Those thoughts were rudely interrupted not fifteen minutes later when the crippled ship fired on Moonbase.  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, Paul. I've called the last of them," Col. Freeman said wearily when Foster entered the HQ office late that night.  
  
Paul sat heavily in the chair near the desk. "God! I'm glad it wasn't me who had to do it." The mere thought of having to contact families to tell them their loved ones had died was something he couldn't bear.  
  
Alec grimaced. "Thanks. It was no picnic, let me tell you. Half our staff on Moonbase dead--- just like that. Not to mention the loss of our interceptors and two of the spheres." He rubbed a hand over his face. At least Dee was alive, he thought and felt guilty for being relieved.  
  
"How's Henderson?"  
  
Freeman's lips thinned. "In critical condition. That second heart attack was pretty bad, coming only a month after the first one. Dr. Shroeder's watching him closely."  
  
"Will he live?"  
  
Alec shrugged. As far as he was concerned, the general deserved a lot worse than a heart attack for putting Moonbase in that kind of danger. Thank God Moonbase had been at red alert, or they'd probably all be dead now. HQ was still on red alert, in case the ship returned to attack Earth. But apparently it had been sufficient for it to destroy Moonbase and the interceptors that had damaged it. It had sped away after firing on the base, its supposed drifting having been a decoy. It was far out of radar range by now. But Alec didn't want to assume that SHADO was out of danger yet. There had been far too many assumptions made today already.  
  
"I should have been sent up there," Paul said for the twentieth time.  
  
Alec almost snapped at him, then realized that it was just the feeling of helplessness that was talking. Paul hated sitting still while others got to take part in the action. Freeman sighed and said, "Peter Carlin and the other two pilots will do fine helping them straighten things out up there. The worst of it is over, Paul. It's just a matter of cleaning up now. And you know we couldn't send the other half of the command team up there. It would have been stupid."  
  
Paul gave a wry smile. He was well aware that Straker would have said the same thing. Then he lost his smile. Straker was dying, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. God! Could things get any worse?  
  
* * *  
  
Alec entered the waiting room the next morning to find Paul half asleep on one chair and Virginia and Chris Straker dozing on two other chairs. Only Callista Carlin appeared to be alert. She asked him quietly how things were going on Moonbase.  
  
Col. Freeman said, "Peter's returning today with the wounded. He'll be able to tell us more about the general condition of things up there. But the clean-up seems to have gotten underway."  
  
"Good," she said, patting his arm. "You look tired."  
  
He snorted. "I look half-dead," he corrected. "But I wanted to check on Ed before I headed home."  
  
"Of course. How is he?"  
  
Alec grimaced. "The same. Where's Jackson?"  
  
"Right here, Colonel," the doctor said as he came into the room. Paul stirred and sat up at the sound of his voice, looking toward them blearily.  
  
"Did anything work?" Foster asked. Dr. Jackson had tried several medications to bring down the fever once he knew that it was not a chemical causing the extreme temperature.  
  
The doctor shook his head. "No. He is completely unresponsive to the medication." He sounded disgusted.  
  
"I'd like to ask my father some more questions," Callista said after a moment. "May I contact him again, Alec?"  
  
"Of course," the colonel told her. "I'll take you over--- no, wait. Paul, will you take Callista over to HQ for me? I've got to get some sleep."  
  
"Sure." Paul got up and came toward her, glad to have something to do. "Let's go."  
  
When they returned over an hour later, the Strakers were awake and talking quietly. Alec was still there, having decided against trying to drive home. He was snoring softly in a chair. Jackson must have been watching for their return, because as soon as they came in, he joined them.  
  
"What did your father say, Mrs. Carlin?" he asked.  
  
She turned to him as she sat down in a chair. "He said that Laura Simmons could not have been Straker's mate, because he knows that she is dead. No self-denial would be necessary on his part."  
  
"Great!" Alec said caustically, having wakened in time to hear this announcement. "Now we're back where we started."  
  
Chris was frowning. "Wait a minute. What does being his mate have to do with it?"  
  
Virginia said, "I told you, Chris. He needs to mate with her in order to stop the fever."  
  
He shook his head. "No. You told me he had to be with Laura, not his mate. And she's not his mate."  
  
"We kinda figured that out, Chris," Paul said sarcastically.  
  
But Virginia was looking at her husband. "Who is his mate, Chris? Did he tell you?"  
  
"Yes." He ran a hand through his hair. "But I only met her once, and that was years ago. She used to work at SHADO. I don't really know very much about her."  
  
"Do you know her name?" Alec asked him.  
  
Chris replied, "Yes. It's Sheila."  
  
"No!" Paul responded fiercely and turned sharply away from the rest of them to go stand by the window.  
  
Virginia blinked at him and stared a moment at his stiff back. Sheila? Not Paul's Sheila? What had he told her? That she had fallen in love with someone else. Ed? Good God!  
  
Alec was looking bewildered. "We've had several Sheilas at HQ over the years. Did he give you a last name?"  
  
Chris shook his head absently. He was also gazing at Paul.  
  
Alec finally seemed to realize that Foster might know more than the rest of them. He walked over to him. "What is it, Paul?"  
  
Jackson's voice carried clearly across the room to where they stood by the window. "Col. Foster, you must decide what to do."  
  
"Hey, wait a minute!" Alec interposed. "I'm the senior officer here. And I don't care who she is. If it'll help Ed, we've got to bring her in!"  
  
Jackson said shortly, "Perhaps, Colonel. But Col. Foster is the only one with all the facts. The decision must be his."  
  
Paul sent the doctor a glance of dislike. "You know what his orders are concerning her."  
  
"Who is she, Paul?" Alec asked.  
  
Foster turned to him angrily. "Who is Laura Simmons, Alec?"  
  
Dr. Jackson said quietly, "Will you let Commander Straker die, Colonel Foster?"  
  
Paul tightened his lips and simply glared at him. Virginia came up to him and put her hand on his tense arm. "Paul," she said.  
  
He looked at her, seeing in her eyes the knowledge of his dilemma. He nearly broke down. "Ginny," he said in an agonized whisper.  
  
She pressed his arm. "You know you can't let him die, Paul."  
  
He closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, they were shiny with unshed tears. "Get her," he told the doctor and turned back to the window, shutting them all out.  
  
  
  
  
  
ACT V  
  
When Madeline announced Dr. Jackson, Sheila almost dropped the book she was reading. However, she recovered swiftly and stood up, coming over to shake hands with him. "Dr. Jackson," she said, looking searchingly at him. "It's Ed, isn't it?"  
  
"Yes," he replied with a small frown. She'd gone deathly white, and he was a bit concerned about her. "Why don't we sit down?"  
  
She shook her head. "Just tell me. Is he... is he dead?"  
  
"No. However, he is very ill."  
  
She ran a distracted hand through her long hair. "Okay. I assume you've come to take me to him?" At his nod, she continued, "Then let's go." She opened the library door and called to her housekeeper.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," the woman answered from the top of the main stairs.  
  
Sheila said, "I'll be out for the rest of the day. Please call the guys and cancel band practice for tonight. I'll call them later and set up another time."  
  
"Very well."  
  
"Oh, and call the board for me, won't you? They're expecting me to give them an answer on the Oberon deal today. Tell Percy I'll get back to him when I can."  
  
"Yes, ma'am."  
  
Sheila urged the doctor out of the house and toward his car. As they drove out past the gates, she turned to him. "Can you tell me what happened, Doctor? Or is it classified?"  
  
Jackson glanced at her in the passenger seat. She still looked pale, but she obviously had her wits about her. He was amazed at how quickly she seemed to have grasped the severity of the situation. "It is somewhat difficult to explain. He is suffering from a rare illness. A fatal one."  
  
She frowned. "I see. And he asked for me so that he could say goodbye?"  
  
"Not exactly." The doctor sighed. "He is in a high fever. He is quite unaware of his surroundings."  
  
She looked at him warmly. "Then you took it upon yourself to come and get me. Thank you, Doctor. I realize that it cannot be standard procedure for you to do so."  
  
Jackson squirmed in his seat. "Actually, I came to you in the hopes that you might help us."  
  
"How?" she asked quickly. "You must know that I'll do anything I can."  
  
His glance was a bit ironic. "Let me ask you something first, if I may." When she nodded, he said, "Why haven't you forced him into having an affair with you?"  
  
She closed her eyes for a moment. "If I have to explain, Dr. Jackson, then you won't understand."  
  
He merely shot a glance at her.  
  
"Remember the story of Samson and Delilah?" she asked, her lips tight. "I won't be like her. Not for anything. I refuse to use sex to bring a strong man to his knees. That's not the way I operate."  
  
He sighed. "I was afraid of that. If you feel that strongly about it, perhaps you cannot help us after all."  
  
She looked at him, her head tilted a bit to the side as she considered his words. "You need me to seduce him?"  
  
"In a way," he admitted reluctantly. "You see, this illness is, shall we say, very unusual. It is necessary for him to mate, or it will kill him. It is as simple as that."  
  
She lifted a brow. "Some sickness." At his grimace, she said, "Don't tell me, Doctor. None of his staff wanted the job?"  
  
He almost chuckled at her dry tone. "It was felt that you would be the most suited for the task," he said.  
  
She was silent for several miles. Then she looked over at him and asked softly, "He really will die?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She closed her eyes for a moment. "Okay."  
  
After a while a thought occurred to him, and he glanced at her in concern. "Will you be all right with him? I mean, I am aware that you have an aversion to being touched." He knew he couldn't mention the truth; that she'd been raped. She didn't remember it. But that didn't mean that her subconscious had forgotten.  
  
She turned her head on the seat to look at him. "Yes, Doctor. I'll be fine. I'm not afraid of Ed. He would never hurt me."  
  
"He's not himself," he admitted, frowning. "He may be rough with you. There's no way to know for sure."  
  
She shook her head. "Not Ed," she replied firmly.  
  
* * *  
  
When Dr. Jackson brought Sheila into the waiting room, Alec jumped up from his seat in shock. "Sheila! My God!" he gasped, coming swiftly to her and taking her by the arms.  
  
Jackson came to her rescue. "I believe you know Alec Freeman."  
  
She nodded. He did look vaguely familiar. "Yes. Hi, Alec."  
  
Jackson led her away from Alec and introduced her to Virginia. "And this is Col. Straker."  
  
"Straker?" Sheila asked quickly.  
  
Chris spoke up from behind his wife. "She belongs to me," he said, reaching forward to shake her hand. When she blinked at him in surprise, he said, "Yes. We've met before. It was a long time ago, though."  
  
"Of course," she said, remembering what Ed had told her about his brother. "You're Chris. Hi."  
  
"And this is Mrs. Carlin." Jackson gestured to where Callista was sitting, calmly watching.  
  
Sheila noticed the white blonde hair and blue-grey eyes of the young woman. Was she family as well? She played it safe and simply said, "Hi."  
  
"Hello."  
  
The doctor then led her over to the window, where Paul still stood with his back to the room. "And I believe you've met Col. Foster?"  
  
"Shut up, Doctor!" Paul said sharply, hearing that sarcastic tone and wanting to deck him. He looked at Sheila with eyes that were red-rimmed. "Hello, Sheila."  
  
She realized with a shock that he was taking this very hard. "Paul," she said softly, laying a slender hand on his sleeve. He closed his eyes, and she drew closer to hug him. He held on tightly, and she returned his embrace just as strongly. For once, she didn't mind being so close to a man. He was hurting so much. Her first instinct was to sooth that pain.  
  
When he loosened his hold, she patted his arm. "It'll be alright, Paul."  
  
He nodded, but did not watch her and the doctor leave the room. He kept his gaze on the parking lot outside the window as if the secrets of the universe were hidden there.  
  
* * *  
  
Dr. Jackson told her on the way to Straker's room that he was delirious, but when she saw him, she had to bite back a shocked gasp. He lay restlessly on the bed, tossing and turning, his forehead furrowed in pain. He would have fallen if there had not been restraints in use to keep him on the bed. Jackson said that he'd been removed from the ice packs an hour ago in hopes that she would return with him to help the commander. He checked Ed's forehead as he carefully removed the restraints and warned her that his temperature was still very high.  
  
She came up to the bed, watching as Ed's head tossed on the pillows. He was muttering something, but she couldn't make it out. She looked at the doctor anxiously. "How long has he been like this?"  
  
At the sound of her voice, a curious thing happened. Straker stopped his restless movements and turned unfocused eyes in her direction. "Sheila?" he whispered through dry lips.  
  
She turned to him, placing her hand on his hot cheek. "Yes, Ed. I'm here. You'll be fine now." She looked back at the doctor, waiting for an answer to her question.  
  
Jackson said slowly, "It has been four days since his collapse. However, we have reason to believe that he's been ill for a lot longer than that."  
  
She frowned. "Why did you wait so long to bring me here? Surely, it would have been better for him if I'd been brought in sooner?"  
  
"Yes," he admitted, amazed at how calm Straker was with Sheila in the room. He was rubbing his cheek against her hand and humming quietly to himself. "But we only found out today that we could reverse it. With your help, of course."  
  
She sat on the edge of the bed to give Straker more access to her hand. He turned on the pillow with a sigh, trapping her hand beneath his cheek. "What you're saying is that he knew he was ill, but wouldn't do what was necessary to stop it before it got this bad." She gave the doctor a hard stare. "He doesn't want me here, does he?"  
  
Jackson gestured to the man on the bed. "What does it look like to you?"  
  
She shook her head. "You know what I mean. He preferred death to having sex with me." She stood up. "Who am I to argue with his morals?"  
  
"Colonel!" Jackson said, shocked that she would even consider leaving. "Commander Straker was unaware of the cause of the illness. It really is very rare. If he had known, I am certain that he would have spoken to you about it."  
  
She gazed thoughtfully at the man lying on the bed. He looked so peaceful as he rubbed his cheek against her hand. "What about afterward, Doctor? Who's going to explain things to him? You? Because I certainly won't."  
  
Jackson sighed with relief. She wasn't going to leave. "He is quite delirious. I have reason to believe that he won't remember anything when he awakens." And he would make damn sure he didn't. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an outraged Straker.  
  
She ran her other hand through Straker's tousled hair. He sighed deeply in response and said again, "Sheila."  
  
"Yes, my love. I'm here." She removed her hand from under his cheek to step out of her shoes and unsnap her jeans. Then she gave Jackson an ironic glance. "Staying, Doctor?"  
  
Jackson's lips quirked as he left the room.  
  
* * *  
  
When she came out of the hospital room almost an hour later, Dr. Jackson met her in the hall. Virginia and Chris came over from the doorway of the waiting room, where they'd obviously been watching for her. Paul had taken Callista Carlin home. Alec had left a while later, announcing that none of them really knew Straker as well as they thought they did, and he for one was going home to bed. It was obvious to everyone that he was seriously put out to find out that Sheila was alive and he himself one of the last to become aware of it.  
  
"How is he?" Virginia asked, blinking at the sight of Sheila in a ripped blouse.  
  
"Fine," Sheila said with a sleepy smile. She tried unsuccessfully to restore some order to her hair, but finally gave it up as a lost cause. "His fever broke, and he's resting peacefully."  
  
The doctor came out of the room after a moment and confirmed it. "The fever is gone," he said with a smile.  
  
"Thank God," Chris said fervently.  
  
"No," his wife corrected. "Thank Sheila." She gave Sheila a woman-to- woman look that neither man could interpret. Sheila just smiled sweetly.  
  
"I'll take you back home," Jackson said and steered her toward the elevator. She went meekly with him, holding the front of her blouse together with one hand.  
  
* * *  
  
Sheila slept part of the way back to her house. When she woke, Jackson asked her, "Was he rough with you?"  
  
She smiled quietly. Ed had been bewildered by his own ferocity. She knew she would always treasure the look on his face after he'd ripped her blouse. He'd been more shocked than she was. She hadn't been able to hold in a giggle at his expression, and he had pulled her closer with a soft smile. "He was fine, Doctor. Just fine."  
  
When he stopped the car next to her front door, she got out slowly. But her expression when she looked back at him was anything but sleepy. "You started something here today, Doctor," she said. "I hope you're capable of handling all the repercussions of your actions."  
  
"I believe so," he answered with a slight frown.  
  
"I've been a good girl and not asked uncomfortable questions about this illness or anything else for that matter. It was more important to help Ed."  
  
"I appreciate that."  
  
"But," she said, leaning into the open window of the car, "I won't be so amenable next time we meet."  
  
Jackson lifted a brow at her tone. "Will we need to meet again, Sheila?"  
  
She shrugged. "Well, I can't say for certain. I mean, what if this illness recurs? What then, Doctor?" His aghast expression made her chuckle. "Hadn't thought of that, had you? Oh, well. I'm sure I'll be around to get you through it next time, as well." She stood back from the car, and her gaze turned hard. "But all bets are off if I end up pregnant. I'm giving you fair warning. I won't keep such a thing from him."  
  
Jackson stared at her with his mouth agape. He hadn't considered that possibility. He'd been too concerned with trying to keep the commander alive to worry about possible consequences.  
  
Sheila smiled at his stunned expression and went into the house.  
  
  
  
  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
"I wanted to thank you, Mr. Straker." Emily had waited a long time to talk to him. Straker seemed to be quite an elusive fellow. He'd been unavailable one week, then out of town for the last two weeks. She wondered how he ever got anything done with a schedule like that.  
  
Straker turned from the set where they were doing the final scenes for The Needs of the Many. Production had been nearly halted with first his illness and then his subsequent absence from the studio. He was sorry for causing a further delay, but he'd needed to see how badly Moonbase had been hit. And to help, if he could. Emily was wearing another Marvin the Martian t-shirt today. This one showed the alien with his explosive space modulator aimed outward. Under the picture, the caption read, Eat this! Straker lifted a brow at her. "For what?" he asked.  
  
She rolled her dark eyes. "For getting me the part in the upcoming episode of Encounters. It's going to be so exciting to play Laura Simmons. She was my idol, you know."  
  
He shook his head. "No, I wasn't aware of that. You knew her?"  
  
"Yes. I met her at a C.A.A.R. meeting back in the States. She was a wonderful person. It's such an honor to get to do her story."  
  
He smiled. "I'm glad. But you shouldn't thank me," he said. "It was your talent that got you the role."  
  
"I know how these things work," she told him. "If you hadn't made sure I got the screen test, I wouldn't have gotten the part. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated you doing it for me."  
  
"Alright," he said quietly. He glanced around them, but everyone else on the set seemed to be focused on the scene being rehearsed at the other end. He turned to her and asked, "If you're so grateful, why don't you tell me why you were so surprised the first time you saw me?"  
  
She gave him a considering look. "Well, I guess because I wasn't expecting to meet someone of your... type here."  
  
He smiled slightly at her terminology. "I suppose it must have been a surprise. You're aware of my history then?"  
  
"Mr. Straker, everyone in the sector is aware of your history. But I doubt if anyone's aware that someone survived the destruction."  
  
"There are a few who know," he replied, thinking of the Solarians.  
  
"I'm interested in how you managed it," she said.  
  
He chuckled. "I'm interested in how you know who I am."  
  
"What you are," she corrected. "My people are historians, Mr. Straker. We make it our business to know such things."  
  
"But you can tell just by looking at me?" he asked.  
  
She sighed. "In a way. It's just something about you. I knew right away that you were... different. And what kind of different."  
  
He gave her a searching glance. "Yes. I see. Just as I knew that you were... different, as well. Is that how it is?"  
  
"Of course." She grinned suddenly. "You're very good at prevaricating, Mr. Straker. I wonder how long it will be before you just say alien?"  
  
He smiled in return. "Not until you do. But since you have, perhaps you'll tell me where you're from?"  
  
"Rigel. My parents came here twenty years ago to do research. We settled in the States, because they had the easiest immigration laws."  
  
"Research?" Straker frowned. "What would you be researching here?"  
  
"Well, my father is an expert on the mating rituals of different races, while my mother collects predatory plants." She shrugged at his bemused expression. "I like military history myself."  
  
"I see." For a moment Straker wondered if he might still be delirious. "Are there many of your people here?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Rigelians have been coming to Earth forever, or almost as long. Hey, my uncle has a great story about the time the Rigelian queen Lilith met Adam in the garden of Eden. You'll have to ask him about it sometime. He can tell it better than I can."  
  
Straker blinked. Adam? Eden? "Your uncle?"  
  
Emily nodded. "Yeah. I'm staying with my relatives here in London while I'm doing my doctorate work. Dad won't let me get a place of my own. He says that the streets aren't safe."  
  
Straker almost laughed at the thought of an alien who had brought his young daughter millions of lightyears to live on a foreign planet being concerned about the safety of its city streets. Instead, he sighed. "How is it that some Rigelians have no knowledge of their heritage?" he asked.  
  
She ran a hand through her short, spiky dark hair and said, "You mean, like Peter Carlin?"  
  
"Yes," he said, thinking also of Sheila. "Where did you meet him?"  
  
"At one of the meetings. He was ...a surprise. Although not as much as you were. I like him. He's quite a trip."  
  
"You should meet his wife."  
  
She mistrusted his bland look. "Why?"  
  
Straker only smiled sweetly. "You didn't answer my question."  
  
"What? How is it that he doesn't know what he is?" She shrugged. "Well, when you consider that research teams have been settling here for centuries, it isn't that hard to figure out. Over time, they just stop being aliens and become Earthers."  
  
"But not your family."  
  
"Well, no," Emily admitted. "But then, I'm still first generation. My children's children's children may never hear the tale about how their great grandma came here to learn more about humanity."  
  
He smiled. "You'll have to keep a journal."  
  
"Mr. Straker!" she said in simulated shock. "No Rigelian worth his name would even think of not keeping a journal."  
  
He laughed outright, tickled by her wit and vivacity. "So, when can I meet this uncle of yours?" he asked her.  
  
* * *  
  
Nina took her time unpacking her suitcase. Not only was her thigh bothering her where the stitches were, but she was in no hurry to have the task finished. She was officially on leave for the next week or so, at least until the stitches came out. And she knew she'd go mad with nothing to do. When the doorbell rang, she was grateful for the interruption. Her thoughts weren't very good company these days.  
  
"Hi." Mark stood in the doorway. She stared at him for a long moment, then launched herself into his arms. "Hey!" he said, holding her close as she sobbed incoherently into his shirt. He was eventually able to make out enough of the words she was muttering to his shirt front to start smiling. He ran a hand over her beautiful hair and sighed with relief. Apparently, she had missed him too.  
  
When she didn't show any signs of stopping, he finally lifted her right off her dainty feet and carried her to the bedroom. He shoved the suitcase unceremoniously onto the floor and laid her on the bed. She looked up at him mutely, her lovely eyes wet with tears. "Nina," he said and gathered her into his arms to kiss her.  
  
Later, as they lay quietly listening to each other's heartbeats, he said, "I thought I'd lost you. They didn't know how badly you were hurt at first. Then Alec wouldn't let me go see you in the hospital. I didn't know what to do."  
  
She hugged him tightly. "Oh, Mark. I was in no shape to see you. They kept me sedated for days. Well, you've seen the stitches for yourself. It's pretty bad. And I was one of the lucky ones."  
  
"I know, Babe. I guess I was just a little worried that you didn't want to see me anymore."  
  
"No, Mark! I never felt that way." Nina frowned at him as a thought occurred to her. "You didn't use your key just now. You rang the bell. Why?"  
  
He gave a shrug that nearly dislodged her from her position on his large chest. "I wasn't sure of my welcome."  
  
"Oh, honey," she said, tearing up again. "Don't you ever worry about that. I love you. What will it take to convince you of that?"  
  
He grinned. "You'll just have to tell me every day, several times a day," he suggested.  
  
She propped her hands on his chest and peered at him over them. "Are you asking me to marry you, Mark?"  
  
His eyes got huge, and he swallowed a constriction in his throat before answering. "If you'll have me."  
  
Nina smiled. "I've decided that I want nothing more, Mark." She kissed his chest. "Just you."  
  
He frowned after a moment. "You're not just saying that because you almost died, are you? Because you might change your mind later on down the road, if that's so."  
  
She shook her head. "No, Mark. I've known my heart for some time. And the accident has nothing to do with my decision. I intend to keep my job for just as long as I can. But these past two weeks alone have made it clear to me that I can't live without you in my life. All the way in my life. For good. Forever."  
  
"Oh, Babe," he said huskily. "Can I have that in writing?"  
  
She grinned. "You bet." 


End file.
